Mitsuzane Kureshima
is . He later becomes the second , supposedly succeeding his older brother Takatora as a protector of humanity. However he seems to have his own agenda, which greatly involves getting rid of his former friend, Kouta Kazuraba. Later, he becomes with the power of the Yomotsuheguri Lockseed. Character History Early Life As a young child, Mitsuzane was raised by his older brother, Takatora Kureshima. Their parents were always overseas, so Takatora raised Mitsuzane alone. Since childhood, Takatora has pushed Mitsuzane's expectations of him, including, school work and work life. Beat Riders Saga After Kouta's near death encounter with Armored Rider Zangetsu forces him to quit, Mitsuzane convinces Sid to give him a Sengoku Driver. From there, Mitsuzane becomes Team Gaim's second Armored Rider, the Chinese warrior-themed Kamen Rider Ryugen. After learning that the white Armored Rider, Zangetsu, is his brother Takatora, Mitsuzane resolves to uncover the truth behind the Yggdrasill Corporation's ties to Helheim Forest. Yggdrasill Saga However, learning of Yuya's fate prior with the intention of keeping Kouta in the dark about it, Mitsuzane renounces his earlier intent to expose his family's company upon being shown the ruins within Helheim Forest. Supporting the Yggdrasill Corporation in secret, Mistuzane maintains his appearance as a Beat Rider, going his own way to protect Kouta and Mai. Though he answers to Ryoma Sengoku, Mitsuzane learns that the scientist and his group are acting on their own agenda. Like his brother, Takatora, Mitsuzane is smart and revealed to be quite a manipulator with a desire to make sure Mai would live in blissful ignorance. Helheim & Overlord Saga While initially admiring Kouta for his earnestness, Mitsuzane gradually finds Kouta's ideals and methods disagreeable, eventually become disillusioned with his friend after he tells Mai everything of the Inves and Yggdrasill's conspiracy. Combined with being slapped by Mai after taking his frustrations on Kouta for making her sad, an unhinged Mitsuzane plots to get rid of Kouta within Helheim Forest, so much so that he is willing to attack Kouta when his friend lowers his guard and kill him. His plot is foiled by the interference of Kaito who, despite not caring much about what is going on between Kouta and Mitsuzane, cannot stand such cowardly acts. Mitsuzane follows his brother and Ryoma's group into the forest intent on stopping the Over Lords, however, Takatora is ambushed by his own group and is thrown off a cliff. Mitsuzane ignores his brother's pleas to work with Kouta to save humanity and uses his brother's Genesis Driver to instigate betrayal to Kouta. However he is intercepted by Kaito. Mitsuzane is not as physically strong as his brother, despite the power given by the Genesis Driver. Instead, Mitsuzane uses the increased power and resorts to cheap tactics to fight as shown using the debris and junk off the abandoned construction site to his advantage and then calling Inves when he can't win. After escaping from an enraged Kachidoki Arms Gaim and Lemon Energy Arms Baron, he watches them from a safe distance as he turns off his transformation, revealing that he is now the new Zangetsu Shin. At Drupers, Mitsuzane is surprised to hear that Mai agrees to work there for free. Yoko then enters and asks both him and Kouta to come to Yggdrasill. There together with Kaito they hear from Ryoma that Sid betrayed Yggdrasill to seek the Forbidden Fruit from the Over Lords. After planning to find Sid in a separate way, Ryugen discovers where Sid is hiding. Rather than being enemies, they ally together and plan to kill Kouta and Kaito as Mitsuzane sets a trap into calling Gaim in Jimber Peach Arms for help as Ryugen in safe distance, then as Zangetsu Shin before Gaim arrives to find him, attempting to attack Gaim. However, he is easily defeated by Gaim Jimber Lemon Arms until they were interrupted by Demushu, with four Riders in a battle royale for the Over Lord until Demushu's escape through a sudden appearance of a Crack, leading Gaim and Baron to follow while Sigurd and Zangetsu Shin-suited Mitsuzane are confronted by Redyue, who after a brief skirmish gives up and tells them to follow where the Forbidden Fruit is. Already aware of Redyue's trap after she suddenly gave up herself, Mitsuzane knows that Redyue has been planning behind their back, as well as Rosyuo's, to obtain the Forbidden Fruit for her own, with Redyue taking an interest in his dark side after Sid left for the fruit in the possession of Rosyuo and got himself killed. Redyue gives Mitsuzane Sid's hat, with Mitsuzane unaware that Redyue has seen his brother alive. He leads an Inves army with Redyue and other Over Lord class Inves as they enter the real world. Forbidden Fruit Saga As Zangetsu Shin, Mitsuzane attempts to kill Gaim, but his fighting style easily gives indication to Bravo that he's an imposter, prompting Kouta to go all out, defeating Mitsuzane and Dyudyuonshu. However, Mitsuzane uses Dyudyuonshu as a shield and escapes with Kouta now knowing that Zangetsu Shin is not Takatora. Mitsuzane, upon seeing the power of Kiwami Arms, being berated by Yoki Minato that he no longer has a home after all of his actions, and seeing Rosyuo's power, realizes that humanity has no chance against the Over Lords. Mitsuzane allies himself with Redyue to commence his plans of being the world's ruler alongside her. Attempting to persuade his friends to join his side with the Over Lords, he is left astounded as they all shun him. When Mai also refuses to join Mitsuzane, he targets Kouta once more, considering Kouta a blight and that his sweet optimism and naiveté has robbed him of all his friends. Revealing himself to be Zangetsu Shin, he's stopped by Takatora. In a later confrontation the next day, Takatora reveals that Mitsuzane is the reflection of every mistake he made. Though Takatora easily overpowers Mitsuzane despite Mitsuzane possessing the Genesis Driver, which is said to be much stronger than the Sengoku Driver, Mitsuzane is able to defeat his brother when Takatora hesitates to deliver the finishing blow. In the aftermath of the fight, Takatora is flunged into the ocean with the Zangetsu suit that was attached to him starts to disintegrate as his Sengoku Driver is damaged beyond repair. Mitsuzane, despite well knowing that his brother is "dead", gets vivid hallucinations of his brother's "spirit", who serves to contrast Mitsuzane's actions and opinions, effectively becoming the voice of reason and argument to Mitsuzane's actions. After no longer finding the need to masquerade as his brother, Mitsuzane is able to fight with an unwaivering resolve, defeating the undefeated Kachidoki Arms single-handedly and even taking on both a Kiwami Arms Gaim and Lemon Energy Arms Baron alone without any assistance. Mitsuzane later gives Mai to Rosyuo to protect her from both the Beat Riders and Redyue. In a deadlock against Baron, the two clash ideals about the individualism of Mai with Kaito iterating that she is strong on her own and Mitsuzane's view on her as someone who needs to be protected. When Ryoma leaks the location of Mai, he witnesses the extinction of the Over Lords and realizes that Rosyuo has given Mai the Golden Fruit, rushing back to the Team Gaim Garage. Ryoma also appears, taking her to the hospital with the assistance of Peko and Chucky. Here, Mitsuzane learns the true origins of Sagara and is given the Yomoutsuheguri Lockseed by Ryoma, stating that it's a prototype Lockseed that sucks his own life force and turns it into massive amounts of energy. Mitsuzane also fears for the safety of Mai, not wanting her to become a "monster" like Kouta has and upon realizing that he can no longer remember why all of this has happened to him, Takatora's "spirit" appears once more before Mitsuzane, telling him that everything that has happened is the result of Mitsuzane's actions, and that his life has no value or worth. Going to the pier to confront Kouta, he tells Kouta that even though his life has no value, he will protect the person that matters the most to him. Visibly affected by the effects of the Lockseed, Kouta attempts to tell Mitsuzane to get rid of the Lockseed, but as Mitsuzane suffers, Kouta transforms into Kachidoki Arms and later into Kiwami Arms. As Mitsuzame attempts to finish Kouta, Gaim willing takes Ryugen Yomi attack getting impaled by him while Gaim snatches the Yomoutsuheguri Lockseed from Ryugen Yomi. Critically wounded, Kouta still forgives Mitsuzane from his mistakes and wanting him to forgive himself before Kouta collapse from his wound. Returning to the hospital, He was horrified to learn that Mai have died from Ryoma removing the Forbidden Fruit that contains her heart. Furious, Ryoma knew his strategy as Mitsuzane prepares to fight him. However, Ryoma disables his Genesis Driver and attacks him before the fruit erupts. The fruit becomes the Woman of the Beginning and bid farewell to Mitsuzane, having the youth to be sadden. The Golden Fruit Cup Event Set sometime in the future, Mitsuzane feels regret of his previous sins. Now he has no intention of betraying Kouta or his brother again. He acts alone for most of the film. When Kouta is brainwashed by Kougane, Mitsuzane steps up to snap him out of it, with the help of Lapis. The Riders gather to stop Kougane once and for all. Personality He was initially a member of Team Gaim and Kouta sees him as his younger brother. He was the son of a director of the Yggdrasill Corporation and attends an elite high school, a side of him which he keeps hidden from everyone. Living under his brother's shadow, he wants to live freely and break free from the path established for him, as such he sees Team Gaim as family due to him being able to be himself while there once. He also respected Kouta once as a role model in the early stages of the show, basing his own beliefs around Kouta's and always want to do more to help others. He also harbors a secret crush on Mai, which drives him to ask for a Sengoku Driver from Sid and become a rider himself when Mai is at wit's end due to Kouta being shaken to the core after the encounter with Zangetsu. After knowing that Yuya Sumii turned into Byakko Inves and for Kouta as Gaim unknowingly killed him, Mitsuzane tried to hide this from Kouta and even Team Gaim, trying not to disappoint his friends. Despite having a cheerful and optimistic personality, in reality, Mitsuzane also has a dark personality. He will use his own status or a current situation for his own benefit and sake. As shown, he convinced Sid to give him the Sengoku Driver, which Mitsuzane tells Sid that one day he will surpass his brother. Mitsuzane also forced Sid to give him a Lockvehicle or else Mitsuzane would tell Takatora that Sid is the one who gave Kouta the Suika Lockseed. Mitsuzane also stole the Suika Lockseed from his brother without any guilt and swears to betray anyone or everything as long he can retain his friends' happiness. He also tries to destroy Kouta after he learned that Mai likes Kouta more than himself. A majority of Yggdrasill know about Mitsuzane's inner darker personality. Alongside this, Kaito and Redyue are also aware of this sinister personality. As a result of failing to kill Kouta and attempting to manipulate other people's lives, Mitsuzane has been driven into insanity blaming Kouta for ruining his perfect image of the world. Upon witnessing Rosyuo's power when he destroyed the missiles that were launched by the government, he becomes even more insane, believing that he has made the right choice in siding with the Over Lords. His mindset is that when the human race is destroyed, he would finally be able to do whatever he wants without anyone getting in his way, such as leaving Mai to live. His dark nature was then finally exposed to the Beat Riders resistance and later Takatora and Kouta. In his battle as Zangetsu Shin, Mitsuzane was seen able to use almost anything in his advantage, for example throwing garbages and other objects (eg. sands for smokescreen) to keep the opponent busy, summoning Inves when outmatched similar to Kaito in his days as a Beat Rider, killing his own ally as an escape and even taking advantage of the opponents' weakness (eg. Kouta's naiveté and Takatora's empathy for him). Because of Ryoma's influence on his brother, this is caused the influences that Takatora was manipulated by Ryoma affects Mitsuzane, such as allying with Sid (even though he betrays Ryoma, after betraying Takatora), Ryoma himself, and the Over Lords, turning him into a tragic villain and dumb enough following the dark path. As the result of Ryoma's manipulation on Takatora that affects Mitsuzane, he ended up lost everything else after what he did on betraying humanity allying with most of the villains for nothing but his own dark purpose, causing him becoming a broken person. Arms Like with the other Armored Riders and New Generation Riders, Kamen Rider Ryugen/Ryugen Yomi/Zangetsu Shin's forms are called . As Ryugen, all of his Chinese Soldier-themed Arms' helmets share the suffix as their title, while his visors are called . - Standard Arms= *'Height': 206 cm. *'Weight': 105 kg. Ability Perimeters: *'Punching power': 6.7 t. *'Kicking power': 10.2 t. *'Maximum jump height': 28 m. *'Maximum running speed': 100 m. per 5.9 sec. is Ryugen's default grape-based armored Chinese Soldier form. Accessed through the Budou Lockseed, this form's Arms Weapon is the Budou Ryuhou, while the helmet Ryugen wears is the . This form debuts in episode 4. In this form, Ryugen's statistics are the same as Gaim's Orange Arms, making Ryugen, in theory, a good substitution for Gaim. However, the downside of this form is that, as a gunslinger, it lacks close combat abilities. When Ryugen activates his Sengoku Driver's Squash function, he can execute one of two finishing attacks. * : Ryugen pulls the hammer once, making violet-hued energy shaped after grapes expel from the sides of the Ryuhou, with golden Asian lung energy coils circling the barrel. The energy balls then move to the muzzle of the gun, pooling into one big sphere. Once the charge is complete, seconds before the trigger is pulled, the ball takes the form of an Asian lung's head, and shots are fired at high speeds, with each shot taking the form of a flying Asian lung. * : Ryugen jumps into the air while purple energy surrounds his right foot that releases grape-shaped energy as he strikes the target with a powerful kick. Appearances: Episodes 4-9, Sengoku Movie Battle, 10-11, 15-17, 20-22, ToQger Vs. Gaim, Kamen Rider Taisen, 25-27, 29, The Golden Fruit Cup! - Kiwi= Kiwi Arms *'Height': 206 cm. *'Weight': 100 kg. Ability Perimeters: *'Punching power': 8.4 t. *'Kicking power': 11.8 t. *'Maximum jump height': 28 m. *'Maximum running speed': 100 m. per 5.7 sec. is Ryugen's kiwi-based armored Chinese Soldier form. Accessed through the Kiwi Lockseed, this form's Arms Weapon is the Kiwi Gekirin, while the helmet Ryugen wears is the . This form debuts in episode 10. In this form, Ryugen's offensive stats have increased enough to almost rival Baron in Banana Arms, making him very dangerous to face against with his Kiwi Gekirin in hand, and unlike other Arm Changes of similar caliber (such as Gaim's Pine Arms and Baron's Mango Arms), Ryugen's jumping height in Kiwi Arms hasn't taken a hit, allowing him to jump as well as he could in Budou Arms, as well as a slightly faster running speed, though this can be easily looked over. This Arms' finisher is the , which is activated via the Au Lait function on the Sengoku Driver. Ryugen charges the Kiwi Gekirin with kiwi-shaped energy before slashing the enemy. Appearances: Sengoku Movie Battle, Episodes 10-11, ToQger Vs. Gaim, Kamen Rider Taisen, The Golden Fruit Cup! }} - Other Arms= These Arms involve Lockseeds that are normally used by a different Armored Rider. All of these forms debut in Kamen Rider Gaim Hyper Battle DVD: Fresh Orange Arms is Born! where Mitsuzane tests out different Arms to use in his battle against Kouta and his new Fresh Orange Arms. is Ryugen's muskmelon-based armored Japanese Samurai form. Accessed through the Melon Lockseed (reserved for Zangetsu), this form's Arms Weapon is the Melon Defender, while the helmet Ryugen wears is the with the visor. This is the first of three Arms that Mitsuzane tested. However, he was embarrassed to use it because it is the same Arms his brother uses. In Kamen Rider Battle: Ganbarizing, it is locked to a special Ryugen Budou Arms Ganbarizing Card. Appearances: Fresh Orange Arms is Born! - Banana= Banana Arms is Ryugen's banana-based armored European Knight form. Accessed through the Banana Lockseed (reserved for Baron), this form's Arms Weapon is the Banaspear, while the helmet Ryugen wears is the with the visor. This is the second of three Arms that Mitsuzane tested. However, he complained that it is really hard to balance with asymmetrical shoulder pads. In Kamen Rider Battle: Ganbarizing, it is locked to a special Ryugen Budou Arms Ganbarizing Card. Appearances: Fresh Orange Arms is Born! - Pine= Pine Arms is Ryugen's pineapple-based armored Japanese Samurai form. Accessed through the Pine Lockseed (reserved for Gaim), this form's Arms Weapon is the Pine Iron, while the helmet Ryugen wears is the with the visor. This is the third and final Arms that Mitsuzane tested. He commented that the Arms seems to be strong and he will try it. Unlike Gaim, whenever Ryugen swings the Pine Iron, he summons a golden energy projection of a Chinese dragon that can attack the enemy. In Kamen Rider Battle: Ganbarizing, it is locked to a special Ryugen Kiwi Arms Ganbarizing Card. Appearances: Fresh Orange Arms is Born! }} - Rider Arms= These Arms are based on Kamen Riders from the past. With the exception of Double Arms, all of these forms are exclusive to Kamen Rider Battle: Ganbarizing. However, some of these forms are also used in the norm by other Armored and New Generation Riders. is a Legend Rider Arms based on Kamen Rider Double's CycloneJoker form. Accessed through the Double Lockseed, this form's Arms Weapon is the Trigger Magnum. This form is exclusive to Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Gaim & Wizard: The Fateful Sengoku Movie Battle. In this form, Ryugen is able to perform a Rider Shooting finishing attack with the Trigger Magnum, as well as CycloneJoker's Maximum Drive, during which Ryugen Double Arms' body splits down the middle as the halves descend on their target. He was not, however, shown to activate a function on his Sengoku Driver beforehand for either finisher. The Double Lockseed's phrases for the Sengoku Driver functions are in the toyline. *Squash: *Au Lait: *Sparking: An apparent side effect of the Legend Rider Lockseeds is channeling the represented Rider's personality, with Mitsuzane proclaiming before executing the Maximum Drive, which actually is a misplacement of Double's signature pre-battle catchphrase. - Faiz= Faiz Arms is a Legend Rider Arms based on Kamen Rider Faiz's default form. Accessed through the Faiz Lockseed, this form's Arms Weapon is the Faiz Edge. - Fourze= Fourze Arms is a Legend Rider Arms based on Kamen Rider Fourze's Base States. Accessed through the Fourze Lockseed, this form's Arms Weapon is the Rocket Module. In Kamen Rider Battle: Ganbarizing, it is locked to a special Ryugen Kiwi Arms Ganbarizing Card. }} }} - Ryugen Yomi= - Yomotsuheguri= Yomotsuheguri Arms *'Height': 206 cm. *'Weight': 96 kg. Ability Perimeters: *'Punching power': 17.5 t. *'Kicking power': 22.8 t. *'Maximum jump height': 35 m. (115 ft.) *'Maximum running speed': 100 m. per 5.0 sec. (224 MPH) is an upgraded version of Ryugen's Budou Arms. Accessed through the Yomotsuheguri Lockseed, the helmet Ryugen Yomi wears is a variation of the Kiuimen helmet from Kiwi Arms known as the . This form debuts in episode 42. In this form, his under-armor suit changes color from green to dark red, and he is able to wield all the weapons of the Over Lords, in addition to his own Budou Ryuhou and Kiwi Gekirin. Though it is as powerful as Gaim Kiwami Arms, this form drains its user's life force and causes them great suffering. Compared to Kiwami Arms, Ryugen Yomi actually performs better, hitting harder, moving faster and jumping higher than Kiwami Arms. However, its performance is crippled by the continuous spasming fits caused whenever the Lockseed drains more of the user's life, and even between these fits the user is left continuously staggered and trembling with pain, with the result that even an untransformed Kouta is able to hold off Ryugen Yomi for over a minute simply by evading the majority of Ryugen's attacks. Ryugen Yomi is thus not an especially dangerous opponent despite its overwhelming power, if not for Kouta's desire to keep Mitsuzane from coming to further harm. The Yomotsuheguri Arms Armor does not appear from a Helheim Crack, but instead from a dark cloud. Once the armor attaches, a crimson colored steam will emit instead of the usual fruit juice like liquid. In addition, activating this form changes the Rider Indicator's color from the Ryugen palette to the Ryugen Yomi palette, the only form besides Kiwami Arms to alter the Rider Indicator directly. Similar to Budou Arms, when Ryugen Yomi activates his Sengoku Driver's Squash function, he can execute one of two finishing attacks. * * Mitsuzane loses access to this form when Kouta destroys the Yomotsuheguri Lockseed with his Over Lord powers. Appearances: Episodes 42-43 }} - Zangetsu Shin= - Melon Energy= Melon Energy Arms Ability Perimeters: *'Punching power': *'Kicking power': *'Maximum jump height': *'Maximum running speed': is Zangetsu Shin's default Yubari King cantaloupe-based armored Japanese Samurai form. Accessed through the Melon Energy Lockseed, this form's Arms Weapon is the Sonic Arrow, while the helmet Zangetsu Shin wears is the with the visor. This form debuts in episode 28. Compared to his fellow New Generation Riders, Mitsuzane as Zangetsu Shin is less formidable than the Original Zangetsu Shin. Though the stat increase compared to a Sengoku Driver is more noticeable, Mitsuzane as Zangetsu Shin resorts to using his environment to gain the upper advantage and cannot take on other Energy Lockseed Riders by himself. However, when Mitsuzane throws away all his doubts and becomes focused, Mitsuzane is regarded to be even stronger than Takatora, defeating the undefeated Gaim Kachidoki Arms singlehandedly and forcing Gaim Kiwami Arms and a Lemon Energy Arms Baron to retreat. This Arms' finisher is an unnamed Rider Slash, which is activated via the Squash function on the Genesis Driver. Zangetsu Shin fuels all the energy from the Melon Energy Lockseed into his body, which is then converted into his Sonic Arrow before he slashes the target. Appearances: Episodes 28-29, 31, 33, 35-36, 38, 40-41 - Rider Arms= These Arms are based on Kamen Riders from the past. Inexplicably, the New Generation Riders are capable of using the Legend Rider Lockseeds despite none of them being Class S Energy Lockseeds. All of these forms is exclusive to Kamen Rider Battle: Ganbarizing. However, some of these forms are also used in the norm by other Armored and New Generation Riders. is a Legend Rider Arms based on Kamen Rider Agito's Ground Form, as well as utilizing the power of Storm Form and Flame Form in the same manner as his Trinity Form. Accessed through the Agito Lockseed, this form's Arms Weapons are the Storm Halberd and Flame Saber. }} }}}} Equipment Devices * Transformation devices: **Sengoku Driver - As Ryugen/Ryugen Yomi **Genesis Driver - As Zangetsu Shin *Lockseeds - Gives access to Ryugen/Ryugen Yomi/Zangetsu Shin's Arms changes, depending on which lock is used Weapons *Arms Weapons - Weapons that come with the Arms: **Ryugen: ***Budou Ryuhou - Ryugen Budou Arms' personal weapon ***Kiwi Gekirin - Ryugen Kiwi Arms' personal weapons ***Melon Defender - Ryugen Melon Arms' personal weapon ***Banaspear - Ryugen Banana Arms' personal weapon ***Pine Iron - Ryugen Pine Arms' personal weapon ***Trigger Magnum - Ryugen Double Arms' personal weapon ***Faiz Edge - Ryugen Faiz Arms' personal weapon ***Rocket Module - Ryugen Fourze Arms' personal weapon **Ryugen Yomi: ***Budou Ryuhou - One of Ryugen Yomi Yomotsuheguri Arms' personal weapons ***Kiwi Gekirin - One of Ryugen Yomi Yomotsuheguri Arms' personal weapons ***Redyue's halberd - One of Ryugen Yomi Yomotsuheguri Arms' personal weapons ***Shinmugurun's axe - One of Ryugen Yomi Yomotsuheguri Arms' personal weapons **Zangetsu Shin: ***Sonic Arrow - Zangetsu Shin Melon Energy Arms' personal weapon ***Storm Halberd - One of Zangetsu Shin Agito Arms' personal weapons ***Flame Saber - One of Zangetsu Shin Agito Arms' personal weapons Vehicles *Lock Vehicles - Vehicles that unfold from special Lockseeds: **Sakura Hurricane - Borrowed Rider Machine from Gaim **Rose Attacker - Ryugen's Rider Machine List of Appearances *''Kamen Rider Gaim'' **1-36, 38-42 *''Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Gaim & Wizard: The Fateful Sengoku Movie Battle'' **''Kamen Rider Gaim: Sengoku Battle Royale'' **''Sengoku Movie Battle'' *''Heisei Rider vs. Showa Rider: Kamen Rider Taisen feat. Super Sentai'' **''Ressha Sentai ToQger Vs. Kamen Rider Gaim Spring Vacation Combining Special'' *''Kamen Rider Gaim the Movie: The Great Soccer Match! The Golden Fruit Cup!'' Behind the Scenes Portrayal Mitsuzane Kureshima is portrayed by . He was also a guest star in Episode 10 of . His suit actor is , who was previously the suit actor for Gokai Silver in Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger and Beet J Stag/Stag Buster in Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters.Hobby Japan, November 2013 Notes *He is similar Shinji Kido from Kamen Rider Ryuki, as they have the same Dragon motif found in Asia (Ryugen have a Chinese Dragon, while Ryuki has a Japanese Dragon). **He is also similar to Shuichi Kitaoka from Kamen Rider Ryuki, as both are supporting riders that used a gun as a main weapon with a dominant green color in their Rider forms. **He is also similar to Mutsuki Kamijo from Kamen Rider Blade, as both became Kamen Riders at around under 18 years of age and they also have a dominant green color in their Rider forms. **He is also similar to Masato Kusaka from Kamen Rider 555, as his love for Mai has put him at odds with Kouta, like Kusaka's relationship with Mari Sonoda and Takumi Inui. They both also use another Rider's power to trick the primary Rider, never speaking during battle so as not to give away their identities via voice. **He is also similar to Takeshi Asakura from Kamen Rider Ryuki, as both have a similar mad laugh when they become insane. They also shared one thing in common: the color of Budou Arms and Ouja's Rider form is Purple, making him a possible hybrid between Ouja and Zolda. ***Even more insane like N-Daguva Zeba from Kamen Rider Kuuga, especially his laugh when he is hit by the opponent. **When becoming Ryugen Yomi, he becomes a death seeker like Shiro Mizuki from Kamen Rider Agito and from . *He is the only Armored Rider with a unique body type, as Gaim's body type is used by Zangetsu, Kurokage, and Knuckle, while Baron's is used by Gridon and Bravo. This also means that only his Sengoku Driver has a unique standby sound that isn't used by anyone else. With the exception of Bravo and Knuckle, as well as the non-summer Movie Armored Riders, all the Riders that share a body type also use the same standby sound. **Ryugen, however, shares a few asthetics with Marika. *Mitsuzane using the Double Lockseed could be a reference to him having two different personalities; his cheerful and optimistic personality and his secret, dark personality, and Kamen Rider Double is a rider formed by two different people. This also counts with Kuuga in his Black Eyed Ultimate Forms, and Meteor before his secret identity was dismissed for he apparently kills Fourze from defeating Aries for his personal goal to save his friend and before he was redeemed for his sins and Fourze's revival. **Even though he said "Count up your crimes" while in Double Arms, during the post first arc of Gaim and post Kamen Rider Taisen (which includes Battride War II game), he ironically commits lots of questionable acts that tarnishes his honor and loyalty to his friends while causing his own city to cry and cower in fear of Inves, using his own team and the Beat Riders as scapegoats. *He is the second Rider, so far, to perform a face-heel turn, the first being Katsumi Daido and then followed by Kaito Kumon. *Unlike Kaito, who retains his base suit (to differentiate Duke and Baron) when assuming Melon Energy Arms, Mitsuzane does not retain his usual purple/green suit when becoming Zangetsu Shin. This is because the driver is set to have the base suit of Zangetsu Shin rather than the base suit of Ryugen. This allows Mitsuzane to put up a facade as the real Zangetsu Shin and his attempts to kill Kouta. **It is soon spotted by Bravo's battle sense of his fighting style inside Zangetsu Shin's suit. Later unmasked his true face to the other Beat Riders, with his older brother finding out as well. *Unlike most Riders in the Gaim series, whom went from being an Anti-Hero/Villain to Hero, Mitsuzane seems to be the complete opposite, as he changes from Hero to Anti-Hero, and later to a Villain Rider. Until he got better in some final episodes. *Mitsuzane has the most Rider identities out of any other character in Gaim. **Mitsuzane is also one the few, along with Shotaro Hidari and Philip, Riders who actively uses more than one Rider identity. Others, such as Taiga Nobori and the TheBee users, gave up their first Rider persona for another or Kusaka (and other 555 Riders) temporarily used other Rider powers from their series. *Ryugen Yomi has similarities to both of the movie-exclusive dark versions of Gaim. **Like Kamen Rider Bujin Gaim, Ryugen Yomi has a dominant crimson color scheme. ** is one vowel change from being , and is also stands for "the land of the dead" in Shinto mythology. **Kouta and Mitsuzane are also the only ones to have a seperate Rider Form (pre-arms) for their evil forms. *Ryugen Yomi's side effect is similar to the previous Rider powers'/systems' side effect, such as the G4 system (without master unit host) and Kivat powers (for normal humans who don't have Fangire blood). The Ixa system, Birth system, and Purple Core Medals were counted as this. *An unused model of Ryugen using the Genesis Driver to transform into Melon Energy Arms can be found by browsing through the ROM files of Kamen Rider: Battride War II. *In Japanese mythology, "Yomotsu" refers to the Shikome, a hag sent by Izanami to kill Izanagi for breaking his promise of not seeing her within Yomi no Kuni. One of the items Izanagi used to stall the hag from killing him as he ran back to the surface was his black headdress, which took the form of grapes. Legend Rider Lockseeds *The following Legend Rider Lockseeds are styled for Ryugen: **V3 - "Chikara, Waza, Double Typhoon!" **Skyrider - "Sky, Henshin, Sail-ing Jump!" **Super-1 - "Seki, Shin, Sho-rin Ken!" **Kuuga - "Chō Henshin, Ha-Ha-Ha!" **Double - "Cyclone, Joker, Ha-Ha-Ha!" ***Double CycloneJokerXtreme - "Cyclone, Joker, Xtreme!" ***Joker - "Joker, Kirifuda, Sei-ya Ha!" **Meteor - "Hwacha, Ha-Ha-Ha!" References Category:Kamen Riders Category:Neo-Heisei Era Riders Category:Gaim Riders Category:Rival Category:Heisei Era Riders Category:Mystic Riders Category:Heroes Category:Sniper Riders Category:Restricted-use Riders Category:Relatives Category:Antiheroes Category:Beat Riders Category:Armored Riders Category:Supporting Riders Category:Antivillains Category:New Generation Riders Category:Villains Category:Evil Kamen Riders Category:Good turns evil Category:Extra Riders Category:Dark Riders Category:Evil turns good